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The five contenders who took part in Friday’s big televised mayoral debate were played onto the stage by the 1980s standard “Eye of the Tiger” — a bit of a forced cliché, perhaps, considering the 90-minute bout that followed wasn’t exactly a Rocky-style slugfest.

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There were no blackened eyes, bloody noses or cracked ribs, not even the metaphorical variety. In what was mostly a civil affair, the worst damage inflicted was perhaps a few bruised egos.

That’s not to say it was uneventful. In fact, all five participants gamely got into the fray in discussing real matters of consequence for Edmontonians, who, in turn, got their first real opportunity to try to find some clarity in a race that has yet to distinguish any frontrunners.

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(Kudos to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and president Doug Griffiths for organizing the event.)

Indeed, the debate was one the first moments of the campaign where we started to see a little daylight emerge among the candidates, who have been mostly talking about very similar things in very similar ways.

While no one performed poorly, the person who arguably had the best night was